Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta Salad Recipes

GRILLED LEMON-PEPPER CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Roll lemons and limes on a cutting board to release the juices; cut in half and squeeze 1/2 of the juice onto chicken breasts. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the lemon-pepper seasoning, and let marinate for about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Toss lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions together in a large salad bowl.
• Turn marinated chicken over and sprinkle other side with remaining lemon-pepper seasoning.
• Cook chicken on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the centers and juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Cut chicken into long strips and place on salad. Squeeze remaining lemon and lime juice on salad at the last minute before serving.

LEMON-PEPPER CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Saute chicken strips in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon-pepper seasoning, and garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink in the centers and juices run clear, 7 to 10 minutes.
• While chicken cooks, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bow-tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• Toss cooked pasta with chicken, sauce from the skillet, and green onion. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.

GRILLED LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Place the chicken on a plate and rub both sides of the chicken fillets with 1-2 Tablespoons lemon pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour to let the flavors develop.
• While the chicken is in the fridge, get the grill ready. When the coals are ready, spray the grill with a nonstick spray and place the chicken on the grill.
• Cook for about 6 minutes and turn over. Cook for another six minutes. Put the chicken on a plate to rest and to collect the juices.
• While the chicken is marinading, get a large pot of water boiling and put in the pasta noodles. Bring back to a boil, stirring the noodles so they don't stick to the bottom. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 7-11 minutes (or until the noodles are tender).
• Drain off the hot water and run a stream of cool water over the noodles until they are cold. Drain off most of the water, add 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil to prevent the noodles from sticking, and drain into a colander.
• To cook the broccoli florets, get a large saucepan with about 3 inches of water in it on the stove. Bring the water to a boil and put the broccoli in and toss to cook evenly. It only needs to cook for about 2-3 minutes, drain off all the water and run cold water on the florets to cool them off and stop the cooking process so they won't be mushy.
• All of these steps can be done ahead of time to make the salad easy to assemble. To make the dressing right in the bowl for the salad, place 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper with 1 Tablespoon water in a large serving bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. With a whisk, blend in the vinegar, oil, mustard, and honey.
• Slice the chicken into 1 inch cubes and put in the bowl with the dressing, adding the cooked pasta, broccoli, celery, oranges, and onion. Toss to coat.
• TIP: To get the segments from the orange, with a sharp paring knife, cut off the top and bottom of the orange so it will sit evenly on the cutting surface. Using the paring knife, cut down along the peel, following the shape of the fruit, removing any peel and white rind. Hold the fruit in your hand and carefully cut along both sides of each segment, going towards the center to free each segment. If you do this over a plate, you get all the beautiful juices from the fruit to add to the vinaigrette.